Your Character's Name: Rabies After withdrawing from DJ’s empty platform, slightly confused by the lack of equipment, I migrated with the pulse of the crowd toward the far corner of the basement. I shortly saw what caught everyone’s attention: a ghostly girl with killer moves. She wore a twelve-foot long braid that floated erotically around her, flaring perfectly with the melodies. Glow sticks dangled from each bend in the braid.
Like her magnetic counterpart, I felt myself drawn to her. I yearned to be next to her where the music was loudest and the vibrations most intense. I effortlessly reveled my way through the crowd; I just let my body move with the rhythm of the beat. Soon I was right up against her. Her skin felt cool against mine. Her vacant eyes scanned over her hundreds of tireless followers as I danced against her. Tracing her body with my hands I found a lightning bolt on her stomach. I noticed no muscles or fat beneath her skin, instead, a hard, robotic skeleton.
“So what’s your deal?” I asked her.
“Your body looks so sick I think I caught the flu,” she sang back electronically.
“Excuse me?” I laughed in response. I wanted some of what this girl was on. I didn’t want to think about our mission. I didn’t want to think about finding the next safe place to sleep. Frankly, I didn’t want to sleep at all.
Her voltaic voice confirmed my theory. She was the party, or the music itself, at least. DJ wasn’t controlling anything. She reminded me of something my brother, Sam, explained to me from a dream he had one night long ago. To the disappointment of my parents, he always sought out the most advanced technologies. As Bandits of the Hood, my parents heavily disapproved of his interest in technology. In order to avert me, his beloved eleven-year-old daughter, from following in Sam’s footsteps, my father beat him, right in front of me, until Sam slumped, lifelessly to the ground. My father convinced himself that my brother was too far-gone, and he meant to stray me, he said, from any interest in technology. His actions drove me in the opposite direction. Sam left me that night. My best friend left me that night.
I licked around the front of my teeth in search of some remnants of Rundown; I craved for another dose. I gazed lovingly into the eyes of my graceful partner. Unfortunately, the mechanical wonder was our target. Franz Draco required her for some intensive studies. I feared that in the process, he would destroy her. I felt very uneasy about the Keepers in the first place, and alienated from my friends.
Ray showed up with glow sticks for Audra, Roen and me. “The girl’s name is M.E.R.E.D.I.T.H.,” he shouted over the crowd, “We need to turn her off and take her back to Draco.” Ray shoved his glowing rod into M.E.R.E.D.I.T.H.’s face and told her that DJ sent his love. She looked up at Ray with empty and said, “I wanna go all the way.” I raised my eyebrow at Ray. I pulled her close to me and she came willingly.
“What are you doing? We need to complete our mission!” Ray stressed.
“We don’t need to turn her off. Do you see how many people are in here? You’ll get us killed,” I hissed back. I felt protective of her. M peered up at me childishly and handed me something. “What’s this?” I asked, accepting the gift. I peeked over my fingertips and saw a pill. If this is what she was on, I wanted in. The pill took a quick journey from my lips to my stomach.
DJ showed up and Ray, clearly frustrated, immediately pointed his gun at DJ while grabbing M.E.R.E.D.I.T.H. “Turn her off, or you’re both dead,” he commanded. He always turned to guns. I never understood that. DJ complied, but insisted that we go somewhere privately. Ray led us all to the bathroom. I held the sides of my head tightly with irritation as a shiver rippled down my body. The effects of two pills mixing at this point overwhelmed me. They were going to ruin her, taint her. I had never seen a magnificent specimen such as her in my life. I had to save M.
DJ took M into a stall. Audra watched him over the top while he turned her off. “Seriously, her off switch is in there?” Audra said with over-dramatized disgust. I stood aside. I tweaked, twitching, fidgeting, and mumbling. I had no idea what to do, but I knew that my decisions in the next few moments were crucial. Audra took her time stepping out of her stall, in the meantime, DJ busted out with M.E.R.E.D.I.T.H.’s arm now transformed into a rocket launcher. “Get the fuck out of here, all of you, NOW!” he shouted. I froze. Our eyes widened. I knew something like this was bound to happen. If I spoke up now, I might lose my friends. My brother would have; she was worth it.
I carefully raised my hands. “Hey man, I didn’t even want to steal her,” I explained slowly, “I just came for the rave.”
“Help me then,” he said quickly, throwing her to me. I caught her with a grunt; her weight pushed the air out of my lungs. I looked down at her limp body and tightened my grip, then looked back up to DJ with huge, questioning eyes. “RUN!” he shouted at me. I stumbled backwards, shot a glance in Ray’s direction, and then rushed out of the bathroom.
I bumped into Roen on my way out, and nearly tripped as I peeked back at him. “Hey, wait a…,” he began, until he saw DJ sprinting out after me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roen try and tackle DJ. DJ swiftly dodged Roen’s attack and caught up with me. This was it. I couldn’t turn back from here.
DJ led me to his platform and kicked aside a few boxes, revealing a trap door. He opened it quickly. “Throw her down, it won’t hurt her,” he instructed. I looked down at her, then down into the darkness. Oh what the hell. I threw her down the hole and descended the ladder after her. DJ followed, closing the trap door behind him.
He took her from me and asked, “Ever heard of the Curators?” with a smirk.
I rolled up the sleeve on my left forearm to reveal a tattoo.
“Ah, good,” he said, “you’re one of us.”
After withdrawing from DJ’s empty platform, slightly confused by the lack of equipment, I migrated with the pulse of the crowd toward the far corner of the basement. I shortly saw what caught everyone’s attention: a ghostly girl with killer moves. She wore a twelve-foot long braid that floated erotically around her, flaring perfectly with the melodies. Glow sticks dangled from each bend in the braid.
Like her magnetic counterpart, I felt myself drawn to her. I yearned to be next to her where the music was loudest and the vibrations most intense. I effortlessly reveled my way through the crowd; I just let my body move with the rhythm of the beat. Soon I was right up against her. Her skin felt cool against mine. Her vacant eyes scanned over her hundreds of tireless followers as I danced against her. Tracing her body with my hands I found a lightning bolt on her stomach. I noticed no muscles or fat beneath her skin, instead, a hard, robotic skeleton.
“So what’s your deal?” I asked her.
“Your body looks so sick I think I caught the flu,” she sang back electronically.
“Excuse me?” I laughed in response. I wanted some of what this girl was on. I didn’t want to think about our mission. I didn’t want to think about finding the next safe place to sleep. Frankly, I didn’t want to sleep at all.
Her voltaic voice confirmed my theory. She was the party, or the music itself, at least. DJ wasn’t controlling anything. She reminded me of something my brother, Sam, explained to me from a dream he had one night long ago. To the disappointment of my parents, he always sought out the most advanced technologies. As Bandits of the Hood, my parents heavily disapproved of his interest in technology. In order to avert me, his beloved eleven-year-old daughter, from following in Sam’s footsteps, my father beat him, right in front of me, until Sam slumped, lifelessly to the ground. My father convinced himself that my brother was too far-gone, and he meant to stray me, he said, from any interest in technology. His actions drove me in the opposite direction. Sam left me that night. My best friend left me that night.
I licked around the front of my teeth in search of some remnants of Rundown; I craved for another dose. I gazed lovingly into the eyes of my graceful partner. Unfortunately, the mechanical wonder was our target. Franz Draco required her for some intensive studies. I feared that in the process, he would destroy her. I felt very uneasy about the Keepers in the first place, and alienated from my friends.
Ray showed up with glow sticks for Audra, Roen and me. “The girl’s name is M.E.R.E.D.I.T.H.,” he shouted over the crowd, “We need to turn her off and take her back to Draco.” Ray shoved his glowing rod into M.E.R.E.D.I.T.H.’s face and told her that DJ sent his love. She looked up at Ray with empty and said, “I wanna go all the way.” I raised my eyebrow at Ray. I pulled her close to me and she came willingly.
“What are you doing? We need to complete our mission!” Ray stressed.
“We don’t need to turn her off. Do you see how many people are in here? You’ll get us killed,” I hissed back. I felt protective of her. M peered up at me childishly and handed me something. “What’s this?” I asked, accepting the gift. I peeked over my fingertips and saw a pill. If this is what she was on, I wanted in. The pill took a quick journey from my lips to my stomach.
DJ showed up and Ray, clearly frustrated, immediately pointed his gun at DJ while grabbing M.E.R.E.D.I.T.H. “Turn her off, or you’re both dead,” he commanded. He always turned to guns. I never understood that. DJ complied, but insisted that we go somewhere privately. Ray led us all to the bathroom. I held the sides of my head tightly with irritation as a shiver rippled down my body. The effects of two pills mixing at this point overwhelmed me. They were going to ruin her, taint her. I had never seen a magnificent specimen such as her in my life. I had to save M.
DJ took M into a stall. Audra watched him over the top while he turned her off. “Seriously, her off switch is in there?” Audra said with over-dramatized disgust. I stood aside. I tweaked, twitching, fidgeting, and mumbling. I had no idea what to do, but I knew that my decisions in the next few moments were crucial. Audra took her time stepping out of her stall, in the meantime, DJ busted out with M.E.R.E.D.I.T.H.’s arm now transformed into a rocket launcher. “Get the fuck out of here, all of you, NOW!” he shouted. I froze. Our eyes widened. I knew something like this was bound to happen. If I spoke up now, I might lose my friends. My brother would have; she was worth it.
I carefully raised my hands. “Hey man, I didn’t even want to steal her,” I explained slowly, “I just came for the rave.”
“Help me then,” he said quickly, throwing her to me. I caught her with a grunt; her weight pushed the air out of my lungs. I looked down at her limp body and tightened my grip, then looked back up to DJ with huge, questioning eyes. “RUN!” he shouted at me. I stumbled backwards, shot a glance in Ray’s direction, and then rushed out of the bathroom.
I bumped into Roen on my way out, and nearly tripped as I peeked back at him. “Hey, wait a…,” he began, until he saw DJ sprinting out after me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roen try and tackle DJ. DJ swiftly dodged Roen’s attack and caught up with me. This was it. I couldn’t turn back from here.
DJ led me to his platform and kicked aside a few boxes, revealing a trap door. He opened it quickly. “Throw her down, it won’t hurt her,” he instructed. I looked down at her, then down into the darkness. Oh what the hell. I threw her down the hole and descended the ladder after her. DJ followed, closing the trap door behind him.
He took her from me and asked, “Ever heard of the Curators?” with a smirk.
I rolled up the sleeve on my left forearm to reveal a tattoo.
“Ah, good,” he said, “you’re one of us.”